NEWS FROM THE NAXOS MUSIC GROUP
August 2022
Label of the Month – SWR Classic
SWR Classic is the label of SWR Media Services on which recordings of the internationally renowned SWR orchestras and ensembles, as well as outstanding archive recordings, are released in cooperation with Naxos. The label has confidently established itself on the fiercely contested music market. The numerous awards and prizes awarded to SWR Classic attest to its success.
The musical spectrum of the label ranges from major orchestral compositions to a cappella works, chamber music and jazz productions, from Viennese classical composers Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven to contemporary composers such as Luigi Nono, György Kurtag and Wolfgang Rihm. SWR Classic presents musical productions of the highest order.
The SWR ensembles are the SWR Symphony Orchestra, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, the SWR Vokalensemble (considered to be one of the best a cappella choirs for modern music in the world) and the SWR Big Band.
The recording of this not so well-known repertoire features the historically informed interpretations with a modern symphony orchestra (Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra) under conductor Roger Norrington, one of the most important experts in the field of historical informed performance practice.
[10-Disc Boxed Set]
SWR Classic has released many of the ballets commissioned or produced by Diaghilev, featuring music by composers from Stravinsky through to Richard Strauss.
Pietari Inkinen is one of the noted rising stars on the international conducting scene with a comprehensive experience in both operatic and symphonic repertoire. As chief conductor of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie he has achieved superb performances.
Another focus of SWR Classic is its series of re-mastered historic recordings of famous musicians and conductors, including Michael Gielen, Fritz Wunderlich, Hans Rosbaud and Friedrich Gulda. All these series are accompanied by detailed liner notes, written by leading musicologists.
Artist of the Month – Gil Shaham, Violin
Gil Shaham is one of the foremost violinists of our time; his flawless technique combined with an inimitable warmth and generosity of spirit has solidified his renown as an American master. Sought after throughout the world for concerto appearances with leading orchestras and conductors, he also regularly gives recitals and appears with ensembles on the world’s great concert stages and at the most prestigious festivals.
Shaham has more than two dozen concerto and solo albums to his name that have earned multiple GRAMMYs, a Grand Prix du Disque, Diapason d’Or, and Gramophone Editor’s Choice. He was also awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1990, and in 2008 he received the coveted Avery Fisher Prize. He was named Instrumentalist of the Year by Musical America in 2012.
In 2018 Shaham recorded Mozart’s complete violin concertos for the first time in his long and distinguished career. He was accompanied by the SWR Symphony Orchestra – formed in 2016 following the merger of the SWR Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden and Freiburg and the SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra – and by conductor Nicholas McGegan, noted for his expertise in historically informed performance style.
John Philip Sousa Complete Music for Wind Band
Celebrating Gerard Schwarz’s 75th birthday
Internationally recognised for his moving performances, innovative programming and extensive catalogue of recordings, American conductor Gerard Schwarz serves as music director of the All-Star Orchestra, music director of the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina, and Jack Benaroya conductor laureate of the Seattle Symphony.
Schwarz began his professional career as co-principal trumpet of the New York Philharmonic and has held leadership positions with the Mostly Mozart Festival, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and New York Chamber Symphony. As a guest conductor in both opera and symphonic repertoire, he has worked with many of the world’s finest orchestras and opera companies.
Schwarz, a renowned interpreter of 19th-century German, Austrian and Russian repertoire, in addition to his noted work with contemporary American composers, completed his final season as music director of the Seattle Symphony in 2011 after an acclaimed 26 years, a period of dramatic artistic growth for the ensemble.
In his nearly five decades as a respected classical musician and conductor, Schwarz has received hundreds of honours and accolades including Emmy Awards, GRAMMY nominations, ASCAP Awards, and the Ditson Conductor’s Award. He was the first American named Conductor of the Year by Musical America and has received numerous honorary doctorates. The city of Seattle named the street alongside the Benaroya Hall 'Gerard Schwarz Place'.
The Gerard Schwarz Collection 30-disc set was released in 2017, bringing together recordings from the Naxos, Delos, Sony, Nonesuch and Artek labels to create a joyous cross-section of his remarkable achievements both as a trumpet virtuoso and as a conductor.
– American Record Guide
– The Penguin Guide
![HANSON, H.: Merry Mount [Opera]](https://www.naxos.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/hires/8.669012-13.jpg "HANSON, H.: Merry Mount [Opera]")
– Fanfare
– ClassicsToday.com
– BBC Music Magazine ★★★★★
– The Penguin Guide
– Classic FM
– Gramophone
– Scene Magazine
– Pizzicato ★★★★
– Fanfare
50% off all Naxos Hi-Res downloads on PrestoMusic
Well-known for their outstanding catalogue of recordings featuring works by both popular and lesser-known composers, Naxos have produced over 1,000 recordings in Hi-Res audio. The pinnacle of modern digital audio, Hi-Res files retain the higher definition used by sound engineers in the mastering process – enabling a considerably greater range of dynamics and frequencies, and more closely replicating the sound quality that engineers and musicians were working with in the studio.
Until 5 September 2022, PrestoMusic is offering 50% off all Hi-Res downloads from Naxos – the perfect chance to try these great recordings in the best possible sound.
– Gramophone
– The Art Music Lounge
– MusicWeb International
– AllMusic.com ★★★★
– Record Geijutsu
For more information, visit www.prestomusic.com
Naxos Group artists to adjudicate at Fritz Kreisler International Violin Competition 2022
Rimsky-Korsakov’s final opera The Golden Cockerel from Lyon
Rimsky-Korsakov’s final opera The Golden Cockerel (Le Coq d’or) is based on a Pushkin folk tale, but the opera’s Orientalism, comedy and sultry elements go far beyond its original influence. The composer saw in the story of a Tsar, punished for his cowardice and despotism, an opportunity to employ satire to condemn Russia’s autocratic ruler, Nicholas II. This new production – a refugee from the cancelled 2020 Aix Festival – premiered in May 2021 and was staged by the Australian director, Barrie Kosky, a specialist in Russian opera. Critics hailed the ‘glorious’ singing of Dmitry Ulyanov and the ‘exquisite’ performance of Nina Minasyan calling the event ‘a triumphant evening for all concerned’ (Bachtrack.com).
![RIMSKY-KORSAKOV, N.A.: Golden Cockerel (The) [Opera] (Lyon Opera, 2021) (NTSC)](https://www.naxos.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/hires/2.110731.jpg "RIMSKY-KORSAKOV, N.A.: Golden Cockerel (The) [Opera] (Lyon Opera, 2021) (NTSC)")
| Tsar Dodon | Dmitry Ulyanov |
| The Queen of Shemakha | Nina Minasyan |
| The Astrologer | Andrey Popov |
| Amelfa | Margarita Nekrasova |
| General Polkan | Mischa Schelomianski |
| Prince Afron | Andrey Zhilikhovsky |
| Prince Guidon | Vasily Efimov |
| The Voice of The Golden Cockerel | Maria Nazarova |
| The Golden Cockerel | Wilfried Gonon |
| Chorus Master | Roberto Balistreri |
| Conductor | Daniele Rustioni |
| Stage Director | Barrie Kosky |
| Set Designer | Rufus Didwiszus |
| Costume Designer | Victoria Behr |
| Lighting Designer | Franck Evin |
| Choreographer | Otto Pichler |
More full-length videos? NaxosVideoLibrary.com brings you an extensive streaming video library of classical music performances, opera, ballet, live concerts and documentaries. Watch the world’s greatest opera houses, ballet companies, orchestras and artists perform on demand!
Goran Filipec receives Diplôme d’Honneur from the International Liszt Society
Described as a pianist of ‘technical brilliance’ (Ritmo), Goran Filipec is a musician who never fails to capture the hearts of international audiences and critics. His Naxos recording of Liszt’s works for piano and orchestra with the Kodály Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Imre Kollár recently won a Diplôme d’Honneur from the Ferenc Liszt Society Grand Prix du Disque.
Both Liszt and his brilliant musical heir Ferruccio Busoni regarded their compositions as living entities, always suitable for recycling and reshaping to create new works. This programme is an illustration of this practice, with Goran Filipec freely extending and varying the cadenzas in the Hungarian Fantasy, while Busoni enhances the emotional states of horror, grotesque comedy and sublime serenity in the Totentanz.
Filipec previously won the Liszt Society's Grand Prix in 2016 for his recording of Liszt's Paganini Studies, which is Vol. 42 in the Naxos Complete Liszt Piano Music series.
– ClassicsToday.com
– Gramophone
– Diapason
– La Voce del Popolo
– Limelight ★★★★★
– Gramophone
– Fanfare
– Piano News
LA Times celebrates eccentric composer Charles Koechlin
The Los Angeles Times recently published an article about Hollywood’s effect on French composer Charles Koechlin, whose Seven Stars’ Symphony consists of musical portraits about film stars. Its review of Ariane Matiakh’s recording with the Sinfonieorchester Basel commented: ‘the performance is as colorful and charismatic as the subject matter, and the recorded sound is equally stellar.’
Visit Naxos.com to read other terrific reviews received for this recording.
The journal also highlighted SWR Classic’s two boxed sets of Koechlin’s orchestral and chamber works: ‘Besides Basel, the city that has done the most for Koechlin is Stuttgart. The city’s radio station, SWR, which in good German fashion supports a first-rate orchestra, has recorded seven excellent CDs’ worth of Koechlin’s orchestral music led by Heinz Holliger. SWR Classic has also released a seven-CD set of Koechlin’s chamber music, some of it slight and some of it extraordinary.’
To read the full article, visit the Los Angeles Times.
From folk to jazz – Yuri Liberzon performs guitar works by Konstantin Vassiliev
Composer Konstantin Vassiliev and guitarist Yuri Liberzon both hail from the same region of Siberia, an empathy consolidated by the fact that Vassiliev wrote three of the works on this programme specifically for the artist. Liberzon brings his fine reputation as a soloist to this, his debut disc for Naxos: ‘If there were anyone in the classical guitar world that could manage to combine musical elegance with architectural logic, it would be Yuri Liberzon.’ (Classical Guitar Magazine)
Check out these great music videos, courtesy of Guitar Salon International:
Big discounts on Naxos Music Group releases at Qobuz Download Fest!
It’s again time for Qobuz’s annual Summer Download Fest! Enjoy up to 50% off downloads on Naxos, OehmsClassics, Ondine and Orfeo titles. This promo is available until 31 August 2022.
– Politiken (Best Classical Albums of 2018)
– International Record Review
– Pizzicato
– Music for Several Instruments (Top Ten Discs of 2017)
– Gramophone
– American Record Guide
– Infodad.com ★★★★
– Pizzicato ★★★★★
– Fanfare
![DVOŘÁK, J. / HÄUBLEIN, P. / VINUESA, R.: Vespertine [Opera] (after Björk's album, 2018)](https://www.naxos.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/hires/OC978.jpg "DVOŘÁK, J. / HÄUBLEIN, P. / VINUESA, R.: Vespertine [Opera] (after Björk's album, 2018)")
– AllMusic.com ★★★★
– Limelight
– ClassicsToday.com
– Fanfare
– BBC Music Magazine
– ICMA
– Gramophone
– Pizzicato ★★★★
– Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik
![STRAUSS, R.: Frau ohne Schatten (Die) [Opera]](https://www.naxos.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/hires/C991203.jpg "STRAUSS, R.: Frau ohne Schatten (Die) [Opera]")
– Opera
New on the Naxos Blog
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK: MERE TRIFLES?
August 19, 2022
Labelling Beethoven’s Für Elise a mere trifle might appear insulting to such a household name and piano solo favourite. But that’s exactly what his Bagatelle No. 25 in A minor is, ’une bagatelle’ translating from the French as ’a trifling matter’. This blog examines the recipes composers have used for a selection of bagatelles over.
Up-and-coming Naxos Music Group artists at Classic FM’s Rising Stars
In collaboration with renowned cellist Julian Lloyd Webber, Classic FM recently announced its list of Rising Stars – 30 young brilliant soloists, conductors and composers from around the world that included four artists who feature on labels in the Naxos Music Group:
Stephen Waarts’ innate and individual musical voice has established him as a firm favourite with audiences. With a voracious appetite for repertoire, he has already performed more than 30 standard violin concertos, as well as rarely performed works, and is also a passionate chamber musician.
His second-ever recording was as soloist in Hindemith’s Kammermusik IV, where he joined the Kronberg Academy Soloists and the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra under Christoph Eschenbach, released on the Ondine label. It received an International Classical Music Award (ICMA) nomination, and a 5-star rating from BBC Music Magazine (‘Stephen Waarts plays the solo part with brilliant attack’).
Mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston was a former St Albans Cathedral chorister whose distinguished career has seen her increasingly in demand in the UK and abroad, her voice described as ‘mesmerising’ by Gramophone. She won First Prize in the 2018 Handel Singing Competition and was a finalist in the 2019 Grange Festival International Singing Competition.
Charlston was one of the soloists in Michael Haydn’s Vesperae Pro Festo Sancti Innocentium, featuring the St Albans Cathedral Girls Choir under director Tom Winpenny on Naxos. The choir ‘sing with good ensemble and intonation. They are matched by three soloists who are barely out of school, so the youthful sound is maintained.’ (American Record Guide)
Yue Yu was the winner of the 2021 Salzburg Paul Hindemith Viola Concorso and the 2019 Stockport International Young Musicians Competition. A finalist in the 2017 Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competition, she was awarded a £5,000 silver mounted Guillaume viola bow for her outstanding performance of Bowen’s Viola Sonata No. 1 in C minor. Yue studied at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire with Louise Lansdown, where she also won numerous prizes and awards, including the Principal’s Prize. She recorded her debut recital album in 2019, showcasing lesser-known works by British composers York Bowen, Imogen Holst, and Benjamin Britten, which will be released by Naxos later this year.
Dmytro Choni won both first prize and gold medal at the Paloma O’Shea Santander International Piano Competition in Spain, and was a laureate at the Leeds competition in 2021 and the Busoni and Vladimir Horowitz Competitions in 2017. Most recently he won third prize at the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. His recording debut was released by Naxos in 2020 and received the ‘Supersonic’ rating from Pizzicato (‘Choni’s thoroughbred playing already possesses real greatness and ingenious breath’).
See the full Rising Stars list on www.classicfm.com
Playlists for August
Looking for new music? Our selection of curated playlists has you covered with music to complement the season, moment, or activity! Discover music by history’s greatest composers with the Introduction to Classical Music playlist and enjoy beautiful harp music with the Harp Sounds playlist from Naxos. Stream iconic film scores with unCLASSIFIED’s Film and TV Favorites playlist, recharge with Grand Piano’s Summer Chill playlist, and brighten up your day with Naxos Moods’ Easygoing Acoustic. Happy listening!
Naxos Moods is an ecosystem of playlists curated by experts and musicologists to complement the wide range of feelings and activities people experience every day, with an emphasis on stress alleviation, relaxation, and inspiration. These playlists aim to create an exceptionally diverse listening experience, leveraging not only the Naxos classical catalogue, but also world and jazz music. Exciting developments in the Naxos Moods initiative are coming soon – stay tuned for more!
Alon Goldstein joins the Fine Arts Quartet in rare Mozart piano concerto transcriptions for chamber ensemble
Pianist Alon Goldstein, the Fine Arts Quartet and bassist Lizzie Burns recently recorded rare 19th-century chamber versions of Mozart’s Piano Concertos Nos. 19 and 25. The works’ original orchestral parts were arranged for string quartet and double bass by the 19th-century German composer/conductor Ignaz Lachner. This is the fourth in their series of such transcriptions for Naxos, with previous albums having featured Nos. 20 and 21 (8.573398), Nos. 23 and 24 (8.573736) and Nos. 9 and 17 (8.574164). Produced and engineered once again by multiple GRAMMY Award winner Steven Epstein, the latest album is scheduled for release in 2023.
Alon Goldstein has performed at prestigious venues around the world and is one of the most original and sensitive pianists of his generation, admired for his musical intelligence and dynamic personality.
The internationally renowned Fine Arts Quartet (violinists Ralph Evans and Efim Boico, violist Gil Sharon, cellist Niklas Schmidt), was founded in Chicago in 1946. This year, the quartet celebrates its 76th anniversary (and Ralph Evans’ 40th anniversary with the ensemble) and continues to live up to its reputation as ‘one of the gold-plated names in chamber music.’ (Washington Post)
The recording sessions took place on 20 and 21 July 2022 at the Dorothy Young Center for the Arts at Drew University.
– BBC Music Magazine ★★★★
– Pizzicato
– Le Devoir ★★★★★
Chip ‘n Dale reunite with Grieg
In “Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers,” Chip and Dale are living amongst cartoons and humans in modern-day Los Angeles, but their lives are quite different now. It has been decades since their successful television series was canceled, and Chip (voice of John Mulaney) has succumbed to a life of suburban domesticity as an insurance salesman. Dale (voice of Andy Sandberg), meanwhile, has had CGI surgery and works the nostalgia convention circuit, desperate to relive his glory days. When a former castmate mysteriously disappears, Chip and Dale must repair their broken friendship and take on their Rescue Rangers detective personas once again to save their friend’s life.
Listen for Morning Mood from Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, recorded by the Malmö Symphony Orchestra under Bjarte Engeset (Naxos 8.570236).
Need to license some music for a project and don’t know where to start? Visit Naxos Licensing to find out how!
Capriccio conductors take over the podium at the Bayreuth Festival
After the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bayreuth Opera Festival is back this year playing to full houses. The festival's programme features an unprecedented lineup of Wagner operas conducted by two leading artists on the Capriccio label.
Markus Poschner opened the festival with a performance of Tristan und Isolde, staged by Roland Schwab. Tenor Stephen Gould and soprano Catherine Foster sang the title roles, set in a ‘spartan, futuristic setting, giving space to the themes of love and music to play out.’ (Deutsche Welle)
The festival also premiered a new production of Der Ring des Nibelungen, staged by Valentin Schwarz and conducted by Cornelius Meister. The New York Times commented that Meister ‘led a solid, sensibly paced ... reading of the sprawling score.’
– BBC Music Magazine ★★★★
– ClassicsToday.com
– Fanfare
![HENZE, H.W.: Prinz von Homburg (Der) [Opera]](https://www.naxos.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/hires/C5405.jpg "HENZE, H.W.: Prinz von Homburg (Der) [Opera]")
– Opera News
– Infodad.com ★★★★
– The Flip Side
– Pizzicato ★★★★
at the Bayreuth Festival
